Category - Arts/Culture/Heritage

As sparks flew, the hits just kept on coming at the Combine Demolition Derby on a Saturday night in early September. Yes, you read it right…a demolition derby featuring COMBINES, the farm harvesters that typically peacefully gather in grain. At the Humboldt Speedway, these massive farm machines revved their engines and charged header-first, crashing into each other with a loud bang as metal crunched, the rear tires of both combines lifted off the ground and the drivers jolted in their seats.

If you’re looking for something different to do on a Friday night, there’s a free event that easily ranks at the top of the charts. Every week year-round the Emma Chase Café invites musicians of all ages and levels to bring their acoustic instruments to Cottonwood Falls for a jam session. Music lovers like me tune in for a night of old-time bluegrass, folk, country, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere beginning at 7:30 pm every Friday."

Tap your toes to live bluegrass music or pick your own banjo or guitar at Pickin’ on the Plains Bluegrass and Folk Festival July 20-22 in Colby. This event is in harmony with the long-running Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, just on a slightly smaller scale. In fact, Pickin’ on the Plains began when music enthusiasts decided to bring the music, fun and fellowship they experienced at the Winfield event to the Western High Plains of Kansas nearly 20 years ago. And what a festival it has become!

Tapping my toes and nodding my head to the sounds of salsa, jazz, rock and Latin music, I spent a good part of this June afternoon sipping sweet tea under the shade of a huge oak tree during the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina. As I reached to admire my newly-purchased treasure – a sculptured container designed from cream, brown and green handmade paper – that I found at the craft show, drums and other hand percussion instruments begin beating an energetic rhythm nearby, beckoning me to get up and dance. Ahhh, this is the life!

May the Force be with you while exploring Star Wars®: Where Science Meets Imagination at Exploration Place in Wichita. Peer into the future through this blockbuster exhibit focusing on the Star Wars film series that became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. Fans will enjoy artifacts from all six films while those interested in the science behind the fantasy technologies and how it relates to today’s world also will have plenty to see and do. You don’t want to miss this national traveling exhibit from May 25 to Sept. 3 because once it leaves Wichita, it will be displayed in cities so far, far away they might as well be in another galaxy.

Kansas musician Kelley Hunt has earned the respect of critics and fans across North America and Europe with her music steeped in blues, roots and gospel traditions. She has graced the stage at premier American and International music festivals but Kansas is where her heart is.That made her the perfect choice to create the music for a new set of commercials from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism, promoting the Sunflower State as a vacation destination.

The great track star Glenn Cunningham nearly died in a fire that burned the young boy’s legs so badly they almost were amputated. Told he wouldn’t walk again, the seven-year-old endured a year of incredible pain exercising until he could stand on his own, then walk, and finally run. The Elkhart, Kan. native kept running, setting world records in the mile and 800 meters and winning a silver medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This and other inspiring stories about our state’s outstanding athletes, as well as an amazing display of original sports memorabilia, can be found at the Kansas Sports Museum in Newton.